Automotive industry in Kenya
The Automotive industry in Kenya is primarily involved in the assembly, retail and distribution of motor vehicles. There are a number of motor vehicle dealers operating in the country, with the most established being:[1]
Major Retailers
- Toyota East Africa/Toyota Kenya
- Cooper Motor Corporation,
- General Motors East Africa (GMEA)
- Simba Colt
- DT Dobie.
- RMA Motors (Kenya) Limited
- Beiben Trucks - Nelion Trading Ltd
Major Assemblers
- Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) - Also Assembles for Hyundai Motor Corp
- General Motors East Africa (GMEA)
- Honda Motorcycle Kenya Ltd[2][3]
- Associated Vehicle Assemblers Ltd (AVA). (Largest Assembler in Kenya[4]) Also Assembles for Toyota (East Africa)/ Toyota Kenya Ltd (TKL)[5]
- TVS Motors Kenya[6][7]
Future Assemblers
Local Car Companies
Kenya is currently attempting to completely build its own cars. After building its first car in the late 80's the Nyayo Car, Kenya is having a shot at the industry with Mobius Motors which was founded in 2009.
Challenges
The established dealers face intense competition from imported second-hand vehicles, mainly from Japan and United Arab Emirates. Another issue that arises is that there is more demand for second-hand vehicles rather than new ones because Kenya is generally a low-income country. Thus, Mobius Motors was established to provide low cost cars at about KES. 523,000 (US$6000).
Timeline of the Kenyan car industry
- 1976 - First Kenyan Assembled car by Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers
- 1977 - First Assembled car by Associated Vehicle Assemblers Ltd.
- 1986 - Nyayo Car, Kenya's first car is built. The car achieves 120 km/h (75 mph)
- 2009 - Mobius Motors established - by Joel Jackson
- 2013 - 52.3% of new cars sold in Kenya are assembled in Kenya[10]
External links
References
- ↑ PricewaterhouseCoopers. "PwC Kenya: Industries: Automotive". PwC.
- ↑ "Honda Worldwide - March 27, 2013 "Honda Establishes New Motorcycle Subsidiary in Kenya"". honda.com.
- ↑ Honda sets up factory to make motorcycles. YouTube. 1 August 2013.
- ↑ "Toyota drops bid to buy AVA". businessdailyafrica.com.
- ↑ "Ventures Africa - Toyota Launches $4.9m Assembly Plant In Kenya". ventures-africa.com.
- ↑ "TVS Makes A Foray Into Kenya - Overdrive". overdrive.in.
- ↑ TVS to begin motorcycle assembling plant in Kenya. YouTube. 30 July 2013.
- ↑ http://allafrica.com/stories/200805150032.html
- ↑ http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-113038/tata-draws-plans-kenyan-vehicle-market[]
- ↑ "More than half of new cars assembled in Kenya on lower taxes". businessdailyafrica.com.